For To Us - Advent Reading 4 - Joy

This is the forth advent reading that went along with the For Unto Us 2016 Christmas Prayer Loft at the Gathering House Covenant Church in Spokane Washington. 

Joy

by Margot Cioccio 

establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness

from that time on 

and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

All of heaven rejoiced as Jesus was born. His coming would heal the great breach between mankind and the Almighty. As the church we have really run with the message that He is Redeemer and Savior. If we look at the many names of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we start to realize they are so much more than we have begun to understand. Starting from the birth of Christ, from that time on and forever God has been establishing and up holding how we understand and relate to Him. Our God is multifaceted. What a joy it would be if we could help the world around us see God as a good father, a papa who’s love is displayed as strength, protection. Who wants to help us with our own family issues. Could we reflect his love as integrity in the power of Government and show a hurting world that he does care about them…all of them.  What if we could reflect God as communicator who wants to show his love as good news and blessing. Imagine the joy we would have as he brings world solutions through us, his children.  What if we could show God as teacher and show his wisdom as a form of his love?  He is provider and provision and resources can multiplied in and through us as we show the world the ways of kingdom economics. Everywhere we look we see God’s fingerprints, he has put great energy and detail into even the smallest flowers and things that we may not even notice. Could we show him as Creator who has fun creating. Stop and think about the amazing joy there is in actually being able to have a intimate relationship with the greatest creator and artist who has not yet run out of ideas and want to partner with each of us to do amazing things. Think about the joy there is in making him known and showing his love in all these areas and more. 

What if the only thing that holds back the great outpouring of his love in all of these ways is simply that have gotten so focused on the getting people saved and to heaven and getting there our selves that we forgot to be salt and light. We have become so focused on the problems of our world that we forgot to show them our creative solutions and the amazing love and kindness of God .Every generation since Jesus was taken to heaven has thought He would return in their time. Too often we have sat on our hill tops inside our churches trying really hard to be holy while the whole world groaned and ached for the light of God to come to them. Jesus said don’t hide your light under a basket. Put it up on a stand and let it shine brightly.

Acts 3:21-23 in theThe Message it says “Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be.

What if Jesus is held out of sight in heaven until we through the power of the Holy Spirit in us, work to bring about the restoration of all things to his order. Jesus said we would do greater things than he did because he was in heaven and had sent us the Holy Spirit. What if he's not the one asleep in the boat this time. What if we are the one’s who are asleep to his calling and purposes for our lives. What if we are here to make a difference?

Gods kingdom is advanced by influence and example not by forcing others to do it our way. It is how we live among others that gives us a platform to speak into their lives. There is great joy when things are done God’s way. When the righteous prosper the city rejoices.  

We have painted the town red like his blood but there are so many more colors of his love that we have yet to really discover and reveal with joy to the world.

Jesus is a living gift. He is waiting for us to unwrap more of the mystery of who he is in each of us. What does his rainbow of love look like as it comes out of you and spills into the things you are passionate about.  Joy is our advent candle today.  - Joy to the world - the Lord is come…Let every heart prepare him room. Let every heart rejoice. Let heaven and nature sing! 

For To Us - Advent Reading 3 - Hope

This is the third advent reading that went along with the For Unto Us 2016 Christmas Prayer Loft at the Gathering House Covenant Church in Spokane Washington. 

Hope 

by Margot Cioccio 

Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,

In the Voice it reads like this. “His leadership will bring such prosperity as you’ve never seen before—sustainable peace for all time.This child: God’s promise to David—a throne forever, among us, to restore sound leadership that cannot be perverted or shaken. He will ensure justice without fail and absolute equity. Always.”

As I have thought about these readings I have made a point to not make them nostalgic, or filled the typical holiday fluff. Jesus wants to give you a gift of a greater revelation of himself as alive and truly active in your life. Today our Advent candle is Hope.  Our verse reminds us that Jesus has been given a throne forever among us. There is no end to what he is doing in you or in his beloved creation. To know that he cares and is still actively working gives us renewed hope for our lives and the world around us. 

We are his ambassadors. We are the very people through whom he chooses to work. Yet too often we have gotten saved and in our minds it has mostly been an insurance policy and our ticket to eternal bliss. It does very little to change our present circumstances or our lives moving forward. However, Salvation is a much bigger concept, it applies to here and now and to eternity. Over one hundred times when the word saved or salvation used in the New Testament, it is the word SOZO which means Saved, Healed and Delivered. Those are things that actively transform our life in the here and now.  We are to be reflections of His glory and his love in everything we do and every place we go. 

Our verse today talks about there being no end to the greatness of His government and peace. I want to talk about God’s government and what it looks likes. His government is free from corruption and when we are free from that we are able to experience his power in the form of love. God cares about all of us and uses His power and authority for our good. 

 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

    love and faithfulness go before you.” it says in Psalm 89:14 NIV

Hebrews 12:28 NIV  Says, Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, In Matthew 5:13 we are reminded  “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 

If we stop being salty, influencing the flavor of life around us,  we are cast aside and trampled. Religion is too often seen as useless and what we have walked in too much of the time is simply legalism. We have tried to conform others by use of law, or to force them to our version of morality. We now have a reputation as Christians of being those people who are anti everything. That is a corruption of God’s heart and not the kind of people we are called to be. My hope today - that repentance and revival would begin in the house of God. Let it begin with in each of us. 

To understand God as ruler and King we need to look at how Jesus lived and walked among us. According to Jesus, to be a leader one needed to be a great servant. To have true authority one must be willing to lay down their life for others. He showed us that those with real authority are always submitted to authority as well. It is his love that must move us and his kindness that leads to repentance. We as his people need to work to restore Gods image by power of His love where ever we find it has been distorted. The lie is that God doesn't care about things on earth. That we are left here as orphans to try and do the best we can against terrible odds. The truth is that God is for us, he does care about his creation. He has not left us as orphans we are adopted and accepted as sons and daughters who have been given authority to represent him in every segment of society. 

Trust brings His government into our own lives and that government brings us true peace. So now we light the candle of hope. A hope that as he changes us to conform to his image that the world around us can also be changed and his government and peace will increase. 

For To Us - Advent Reading 2 - Peace

This is the second advent reading that went along with the For Unto Us 2016 Christmas Prayer Loft at the Gathering House Covenant Church in Spokane Washington. 

Peace

by Margot Cioccio 

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, 

Prince of Peace.

In the prayer loft in front of the Peace banner there is a hand out that has 50 names of Jesus and some other items to help you be more connected.  

In the Bible a persons name told you about their character and destiny. In this verse we are given just four names. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Let’s look briefly at each of them. 

Wonderful Counselor: We think of wonderful as meaning really good, nice, kind or likable but it is really more like incomprehensible and full of wonder. His name is so far beyond our understanding that we have to break it down into little bites to understand and even then without the help of Holy Spirit we don’t get very far. Jesus as wonderful counselor brings answers to problems that make a watching world scratch their heads in astonishment. Our lives as believers should never be dull or boring. Jesus wants to fill your life with wonder. In the early church you wouldn’t even be considered as a potential leader if signs, wonders and miracles were not evident in your life. Somewhere along the journey we opted for predictable tradition and religion when Jesus want to be our living God who does amazing things in and through us. Cool stuff beyond our own skills, ability and strength. Colossians 2:3 tells us In Christ is “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” this includes the knowledge of all human nature  and what makes us tick. He always knows what we are going through, and He always knows what needs to happen. In Hebrews 4 he is our great High Priest with grace and mercy for us in our time of need.

Mighty God: In Hebrew this is El Gibbor that means strong and mighty. A mighty warrior who demonstrates courage, bravery and action. In 2nd Corinthians 10 we are reminded that though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” In Ephesians 6 we are given armor. “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” God’s war is not against confused and damaged humanity but against the spiritual forces that continue lie, manipulate, kill, steal and destroy the people that God created and loves.

Everlasting Father: I like to think about what it is that Fathers are supposed to do and be for us. They are to protect, provide and give us a sense of our identity. Many of us have a messed up view of Father because our human fathers have not always been those things to us. As such it is often hard for us to relate to God in one or more of these areas. In our trinitarian ideas we don’t usually think of Jesus as Father, but they are all one. If we put on our Hebrew translation hats for a moment this phrase literally translated means “Father of Eternity.” He is the father over time and eternity, the amazing architect of the ages. 

Prince of Peace: We think of peace as being the end of conflict between peoples and nations. If everyone would just get along we could have peace, but perhaps political and cultural harmony is not what he is talking about. Shalom is the Hebrew word for “peace.” a calm and tranquility for individuals, groups, and nations. In Greek it is about unity and being in one accord or purpose. In Galatians 5:22–23 peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. It is one of the evidences that the Holy Spirit is working in your life.

Still there is a much deeper meaning of peace in the spiritual harmony that comes when our relationship with God is restored. 

Today we light the Peace candle and are reminded that to truly have Peace we need our broken relationship with God restored. Jesus came to provide the way to accomplish that restoration. The lie we must over come is that we must work hard and be good to know God. The truth is that we need a redeemer in order to know God. That redeemer is Jesus. He has paid the price for you and simply waits for you to believe and call upon his name.

For to Us - Advent Reading 1 Love

This is the first advent reading that went along with the For Unto Us 2016 Christmas Prayer Loft at the Gathering House Covenant Church in Spokane Washington. 

Love 

by Margot Cioccio 

For to us 

a child is born, to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

We've all heard these words from Isaiah 9:6-7 before. You may also recognize them from Handel’s Messiah. It is a massive 259 page score, with a quarter of a million notes that he completed in 24 days. I believe that he was “God” inspired to write at such a pace. He would have had to average more than 15 notes a minute, yet his handwritten score has very few mistakes. It is as if he was hearing something from the spiritual realm and capturing it for us on earth. 

My intent is not to talk about Handle, but to reflect on Advent. The order of the candles will be a little scrambled this year on purpose to go along with Isaiah 9:6-7 passage featured in our prayer loft. The advent wreath is thought to be a teaching tool created by Martin Luther. I can’t completely confirm this but the advent wreath in its present form started in Germany as a Lutheran family custom. The first topic is supposed to be hope, then love, then joy, and finally peace. I want to turn it and view the advent season from heaven’s perspective rather than from that of mankind. I hope you will indulge me. Each of these readings goes along with things found in our prayer loft and you are welcome to enjoy them in any order as well. 

Today we start with love, the great love of God for creation. It is from the amazing depths of love that God not only gave us free will but had a plan already laid out to redeem us from the pit we all find ourselves in when we reject His ways and go it on our own.  I want to read you this same Isaiah passage of scripture from a translation called the voice.  “Hope of all hopes, dream of our dreams, a child is born, sweet-breathed; a son is given to us: a living gift. And even now, with tiny features and dewy hair, He is great. The power of leadership, and the weight of authority, will rest on His shoulders.”

We have been given a living gift and if we make room for it, it will transform not only our own lives but the world around us. We celebrate Jesus as a baby in the manger and maybe your Christian walk has gotten stuck there. This morning I want to remind you that Jesus is not a baby in a manger any more. When he ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty he sent us the Holy Spirit, to be our teacher, counselor and comforter. He didn’t leave us here as spiritual paupers but left us to be priests, kings and prophets. We are at very least to be people who influence others. Daniel 11:32 say …”the people who know their God shall be strong, and do great exploits.”  In John 14:12 “Jesus say to us, Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” We have been given kingdom authority and access t kingdom resources to make a kingdom difference. If you stop for a moment and look at the wonder and detail of creation or pause to think about the vast number of stars in the night sky, it is clear that our God in his love is infinitely creative. Romans 8:19 For all of creation is waiting, yearning for the time when the children of God will be revealed.” I have read that verse and perhaps you have too and thought some day in the far flung future God will set things right. Well…That day was the day Jesus was born. Creation is not waiting for God to do something but for his children to wake up to who they are called to be in him. For every problem in our world, God has an answer and perhaps if we would wake up, we might begin to walk as people of his love with influence and creative solutions.  

For unto us…God has given a living gift not a memorial statue found in a nativity scene. While we look at these verses and go through the holidays we can simply get all warm and nostalgic or we might turn on the light bulb to the truth to what happened that day and realize that gift was given to you and me and we might wake up and begin to be transformed by the magnitude of it. 

As we light this first candle of love,  let us remember that one of the very first teachings that Jesus shared was that we are the light of the world. We are the earthen vessels through which His love is poured out. Habakukkuk 2:14 says  “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

Lord, wake us up from our slumber to walk in all that you have provided and intended for us. Wake us up and help us to be living reflections of your love until it fills the earth for your glory.

Translating God Book Report

I am doing these book reports as a student for the International Healing Rooms School of Transformation. 
There is an on-line course available. I am doing my course work live and in person at the International headquarters in Spokane Washington. If you are interested in training please follow the link above. I highly recommend the School. It is stretching and growing me and have loved every minute of it.  
Its not my usual devotional but I thought I might as well post them here. The questions are the same for each report. Hope you enjoy my report. 

This was the first book that we read this year. We also were able to view in class the video series of Shawn Bolz teaching. Sadly, I missed getting to see Shawn Bolz when he came to the International Healing Rooms as a guest speaker last year. This has been one of my favorite books this year and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to grow in hearing God's voice. 

Translating God Book Report

By Margot Cioccio

1. Briefly write what the whole book is about and why the author has written it. (Imagine the author will read this and would say, “Yes, this is the main point(s) of my book.)  The main message of Translating God is that prophecy is for every believer not just the specially gifted. Shawn shares his journey and the many lessons he has learned from many years of practice and development of his prophetic gift. He has also gained understanding from being around others who were using their prophetic gifts. He shares many wonderful stories of lives touched by the love of God through words of knowledge and prophecy. He is a regular guy who is partnering with Jesus to do incredible things to make a kingdom difference in the world.                                                                                                       
2. Briefly outline 4 major points of the book as the author presents them including page numbers.  The main points that stood out to me are in bold print followed by my thoughts and verses that impacted me for  each point.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • Love is more important than information. (Page 18). “See what God sees, hear what God hears, and speak what God speaks so we can all love the way God loves. Revelation is given so we can carry a piece of God’s heart from eternity into the world.” (Page 20)  Another quote that expressed this point and the heart of Jesus, said “ He saw them through a developed sense of love - the Father’s point of view. He saw them as though they were restored to their original design, God’s original intention, as though they had already fully said yes to his invitation of walking with him, even though they were not yet capable. He didn’t treat them as he hoped they would one day be, he treated them as if they were already restored. (Page 20) “There is no power from God that is separated from love.” (Page 51)                                                                                                                                                                                                          • Defining the difference between discernment of spiritual information and the communication that comes from relationship building with God.  In this Shawn answers why God speaks, and how he speaks. “His eternal plan is for us to see what he sees, which enables us to love like he loves” (page 23) He spends a full chapter telling us about John’s relationship with Jesus. In the book of Revelation John try to describe the magnitude of what he saw. He had up to that point only experienced Jesus as a human and Jesus resurrected. He now experiences the fully glorified Jesus. He was overwhelmed and collapsed and needed help from Jesus to be able to stand. He is called to “Come Up Higher” in which he sees not only Jesus glorified but the culmination of believers from every generation as the fully prepared  bride of Christ. This experience forever changed how John would see the church. “ He was seeing eternity now - the bride made ready to not just serve, but to partner as creator, to partner as a counterpart, to partner as a daughter/son as a friend.” (Page 31)  It is out of our relationship with Jesus that we begin to experience the Fathers’ heart for people. While we may initially see their fault and brokenness it is through the lens of the Father’s love for them that we are able to share things from his heart to help them be restored to His plans and purposes for their lives. I liked the quote by Phil Elston that was included in the book. “It takes no anointing to see what is wrong in people’s lives. Tell them something they don’t know! See the gold and tell them that.” (Page 32) We learn from John’s example to see everyone who is running the race with their first place victors trophy.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Eagerly Desiring the Prophetic and Understanding the Prophetic as a Relational Tool   Shawn shares how he is a normal guy. He had no great signs at his birth or fantastic supernatural visitations. Nothing that would set him apart as more special than you or I. He writes on page 43 “May times when I didn’t feel qualified, or like I didn’t have the relational or emotional capacity, let alone the skill set, to speak to different people (it felt way out my comfort zone), God’s personality and his passion possessed me in a way that made it easy. I am not limited to my resources: I am limited to his, even when reaching outside my comfortable space.”  We are encouraged in 1 Corinthians 14 to eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.  “The reason why is because prophecy can be on of the clearest validations of the Father’s great love …When people hear the thoughts and emotions of God toward them, they believe in his love for them. (Page 45)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     • Accountability, A New Way To Grow God wants each of to grow in our use of the Prophetic. We need to move from the doom and gloom, God is going to judge you for your sins to a type of Prophecy that is born out of a culture of love. We want to encourage people to begin to see themself through that love that Jesus has for them. One way we can grow is to be accountable to other prophetic people who have had more experience than we have. It is also important to be responsible for our words that don’t happen. One way we can improve and grow is by tracking our words. Get the persons contact information and check back with them. There used to be an attitude that if something didn’t come to pass that it was the persons fault due to their lack of faith, or disobedience. It is important that we be the responsible party. We meant well but sometimes we don’t get things right. Mike Bickel challenged Shawn one day saying” One of the mistakes we have made as a ministry culture, that I don’t want you to repeat, is that we never looked for the words we gave that weren’t right. I bet that 90 percent of the time, if your prophecy doesn’t come true over someone’s life, he will think God is mad at him or the devil is warring against him, or worse yet, that he blocked something good from coming into his life because of sin.” It is also ok for us a people receiving words to say thank you but I don’t think that is what God is saying to me. Prophecy should confirm things that God has already been speaking and stirring in our life.                                                                                                            
3. Thoughtfully explain one main strength (or point of agreement) with the author. Looking back over my years as a believer and having spent much of those years in full or part time ministry. I have seen Prophecy to be a wonderful thing at times but I have seen it also delivered in very damaging ways. I have also been troubled in the past by self proclaimed prophets who seemed to think they were somehow exempt from the fruit of the Spirit in their life because they were somehow God's specially chosen. I agree with Shawn that prophecy must come from a culture of love and one that is formed in relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well as with the people we touch through prophecy. I loved  how Shawn was willing to take responsibility for his words that didn’t happen. This book gives me hope that many of the imbalances in the use of the prophetic have been and are being corrected.                                                                                                                                                                                              
4.  Write down some of your favorite sentences in the book. I have already included many of them in my answers to the previous question. One of my favorites is on page 113 “you start to feel as though the gaps between Gods heavenly heart and his peoples is closing. Your very life becomes a bridge over that gap. Your faith and love stretch from God’s own desire to your sphere of influence.”   I also really like this one from page 17 “The prophetic is one of the greatest tools of love we have.”                                                                                                                                                 
5.  In what way did this book impact your life as one who transforms cities? How will you be different? It has encouraged me to be bolder about sharing the things God shows me. I told a client this week that I believed that God wanted her to have more joy. She responded that she would like that but wanted to know how to have more joy. I told her to ask God for it.  I shared some of the things I find helpful such as soaking in the Word with music and how the gift of tongues has been one of the most helpful things for me personally. She didn’t realize that one could have more than one gift and didn’t realize that all of the resources of heaven are hers simply by asking. We prayed together and she spoke in tongues. I see my self being less reserved and more open to share words with people not just at the Healing Rooms or at my church but with my clients and as I go about my day.                                                                                 
6.   What challenges(s) have you been given by the Lord to implement some of the strategies in this book?  I mostly just know how to pray and what to share when I lay hands on people, it is as if I connect to Gods heart and become his voice in that moment. I just know things. Most of the time people weep and are deeply touched.  This book challenged me to try using word of knowledge as a way to connect on a deeper level with people and help them to be more receptive to what God wants to say to them. So the other day at the dentist office while the hygienist was working on me, I spent the time praying for her. I kept hearing the name Edmond and felt like I should ask her if there was someone important to her with that name. Turned out that she didn’t but I was able to share that I had been praying for her. We laughed and I told her I don’t always get things right but when I hear something I ask just in case it is important. I drove home feeling a little disappointed that it didn’t mean anything to her but I celebrated that I had had the courage to share it with her. Who knows maybe Edmond is someone who will be important to her and she will remember our conversation. I leave it in the Lords far more capable hands. I will keep listening and loving and sharing as the Holy Spirit Leads me.                                                                                  
7. My Concluding Thoughts  I found this book to be a refreshing look at the prophetic gift. I am encouraged to see growth and accountability among those who have not only the gift of prophecy but the office as well. I have to say I have steered clear of a lot of the folks that ride into town claiming to be prophetic voice of our day. I guess I have always felt that God knows my address and I know his voice and I am confident that he will speak to me about the things I need to know. He was willing to use a donkey, and Jesus said the rocks will cry out if we don’t praise him. Just because one has this gift doesn’t make them hyper special.  There have been many times where I have been encouraged by the words, and pictures and verses that the teams at the healing rooms have shared. I just have always believed I shouldn’t have to run from meeting to meeting to get a word or a confirmation it should be a part of my normal life. I read my bible to say that signs and wonders should follow me. I don’t need to be chasing after them. I think some people have substituted running after words from Prophets rather than establishing a relationship with God who wants to speak directly to them. Jesus came so we no longer need an intermediary. I do see how I could be more open to operating in this gift and to others who are also practicing hearing from God.  At the time of the Toronto Blessing revival, I saw a lot of things happening in the church that was alarming to me. I was Spirit filled and spoke in tongues and was traveling with my husband teaching people about praise and worship. We did concerts at both Randy Clark’s church in St. Louis and at Bethel Church in California before they became a big deal. I saw a meeting led by Rodney Howard Brown where the Pastors stood frozen for the entire meeting. Having come out of a New Age background it didn’t feel right to me at the time. Yes, people were getting touched but ministries all over the place came to a screeching halt to accommodate the revivals that erupted.  I couldn't find with in the pages of my bible scriptures to confirm people to be barking like dogs, or hysterically laughing. I didn’t have much of an understanding of the messiness of revivals at the time.  I suppose it is the fruit that I see now many years later in people who were profoundly touched by God at that time to make me look back and wonder if I missed it or did God simply have another path for us.  I think of David’s wife who laughed at him wildly worshiping in his ephod and I find myself repenting for my critical spirit at that time and my inability to bend with a new move of God.  This book has stirred up some of those memories and choices that were made. I am grateful that God loves and uses us where we are at a various times in our lives even if we were not ready to swim at the deep end of the pool. 

Do not be afraid of their faces

May our prayers rise as incense!

I was recently at a worship gathering that afterwards the people leading it took the time to give prophetic words, words of knowledge and encouragement for the people who were gathered there. The word I was given was about having been like a tweedy bird in a cage and how God was opening the cage door that God would use my voice to change atmospheres. He added one last thing that stood out to me "Do not be afraid of their faces." I immediately thought singing canary in a cage except I've been singing in front of people for 30 years there is no reason to be afraid of anyones faces in that arena. Perhaps God meant something else?  

Today while reading Jeremiah 1:4 I found those same words "Do not be afraid of their faces." I looked back in the verse to see what was happening. It seems this is the beginning of Jeremiah's ministry and he tries to tell God "hey but I'm still just a youth."

My Almond Awakening Lotion inspired by Jeremiah 1:11

Interestingly the I used the verse just a little further down as an inspiration for my Almond Awakening Lotion that I made and gave as Christmas gifts. In verse 11 God asks Jeremiah what he sees. He says that he sees and almond branch. God tells him,  great you got it right and I am ready to perform my word.  You have to look back to find the word God is going to perform in verses 5 and 7 For you shall go to all to whom I send you,  And whatever I command you, you shall speak. 

So tweedy bird has no trouble singing from her gilded cage and in environments that seem safe but yikes God is opening that door and sending the little bird out in to the big world to speak or sing his message to all whom I send you and to speak whatever I command you to speak. Don't be afraid of those faces, go change the atmosphere with your voice. Now the word is making more sense to me and it has gotten more clear as I have written this post.

Jeremiah 1:4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;

Before you were born I sanctified you;

I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then said I:

“Ah, Lord God!

Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

7 But the Lord said to me:

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’

For you shall go to all to whom I send you,

And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

8 Do not be afraid of their faces,

For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,

To root out and to pull down,

To destroy and to throw down,

To build and to plant.”

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”

And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”

My words can change atmospheres and get people to think about things from other vantage points. Its interesting in this current political season that I have dear friends on every side of just about every political argument am I brave enough to share what I believe God is saying?  While some friends are celebrating others are angered or frightened. I stand like a bridge between often vastly different view points.  I have majored on listening and pointing people to prayer, compassion, mercy and justice. I have tried to point people on both sides to actually listen and try to understand one another.  I am not always so bold as to speak up and share my opinion. So here is some of it for anyone reading.

The problems we face in this day are multifaceted and we will not find answers as long as we are accusing, blaming, pointing fingers and screaming at one another. We need to be willing to love people even if we don't agree with everything they think or believe or do. I believe Jesus has modeled this for all of us. When we came to him and even now if we are humble to admit it, we often don't fully understand what His ways, plans or larger purposes. We don't always really know what God is doing, our doctrine and belief are often a smorgasbord for truth and that fluffy jello pudding stuff. Tasty stuff but of little real value. Yet Jesus meets each of us where we are and every step along the way he calls us to come a little closer, come know Him more, come sit at His feet, come experience His transforming power in your life. It is His kindness and the growth of relationship with Him that causes us to want to know Him more and understand His better way and be transformed into His image. It is also out of relationship with people and the kindness that we show them that we earn their trust and a chance to be heard with His transforming love and truth.  

Jesus sat down to meals and hung out with sinful broken people. He didn't gather an army and become a political super power to take on the government of Rome. I think much as I have all along that if Jesus showed up at this time in history He would be out among the people who are hurting. He wouldn't be posturing for power and influence in government. He might not even be at your church after all he came to the lost, the sick, the confused, and the broken and really if you have been in church very long those things should be already taken care of.   Most of the time if he had issues with any group of people it was with the religious. I think he would have issues the church today as well.

I've had the opportunity to go to some really great worship meetings and to hear some truly dynamic speakers and to see God do some amazing miracles of healing and helping people get free and awaken. Its all wonderful but where I really see the power and the glory of God move is out among the people that He allows to cross my path each and every day.  We are not to chase signs and wonders, they are supposed to follow those who believe. Yes those meetings are wonderful but they are what I like to think of as mountain top experiences. Where stuff really grows is back down in the valley's of life.  I guess my thought is that it is important to get filled up but don't get things backwards there are people who need the Jesus that is in you every day and most of them are not able to find their way to the mountain top. We have to go to them.

I was reminded of this video and I think it applies not just to churches but also to how we live our lives. Are we just living the good life waiting for Jesus to return or are we on a mission to make a difference each and every day in the lives of the people we are privileged to encounter?

 I hope I haven't stepped on too many toes - my heart is to challenge us all to step up and out into the calling on each of our lives. If you don't know for sure what that is there are plenty of things in the Bible to get you started there are plenty of the "least of these" folks that need a touch from God through you.

"Not all of us can do great things. 

But we can do small things with great love.'"

- Mother Teresa

Awaiting The King

Awaiting the King ~ Art Reflection by Margot Cioccio 

Standing in the great hall among the mighty pillars and arches, each pearl like, golden and glowing in His presence. The Bride has crossed time and eternity, this moment has been so long awaited. Looking around, surprised by the vastness of the river that flows from His presence. Recalling just moments before the walk along the river through royal city where the fragrance from the trees could only be described as breath taking. What one might have imagined during the earthly sojourn is nothing compared to the sights, sounds and fragrances in this place. It is like having had the dingy cataract scales removed and finding the colors suddenly vibrant and alive. Even that is not enough. Everything seems to be alive even these mighty pillars and arches. The many verses and promises come to mind but this is so much more than we ever imagined. 

The river stands before me, and I feel the currents swirling around my feet. I would swim or fly or walk on water to reach my beloved at this point. In that instant I see Him standing in the door way , the mighty Lion, the King of kings. I am washed or perhaps baptized in the glorious presence of His love. All the grander of the great hall fades and pales in comparison to His gentle kindness that led to my repentance. I am swept up in his love and find myself breathless, with no words left to describe what I feel and see.

Revelation 19:7  “Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. 

The artist of this piece is James Nesbit. He has been called one of the leading prophetic artists in the earth today by C Peter Wagner and Cindy Jacobs. He is a digital artist who creates amazing prophetic artwork. This is just one of many inspiring works of art in what his website calls the Bridal collection. http://jnesbit.com/bridal-collection

Spiritual gifts develop as we practice them. What you see here is a prophetic spiritual gift mixed with a creative one. James Nesbit goes beyond words through his use of imagery. He helps us to see in an instant what thousands of words would fail to describe. 

James Nesbit believes his calling or his assignment is from Habakkuk 2. To write the vision and engrave it plainly, in his case through the medium of digital imagery.

He writes on his web page about this particular piece “In this prophetic image the bride who has been made ready is standing in a river, representing being baptized in the glory, awaiting the Lion of Judah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, standing in the doorway at the end of the great hall.”

How we, who become this beautiful spotless bride and go from our individuality to become one collective in the beloved continues to boggle my mind. I am sure my words or even this rich artwork from the vantage of this earthy life do not begin to do justice what that moment will be like.  I can only imagine…….

As you continue in worship allow yourself to slip away from the struggles and trials of this life and to put your focus on His love for you, part of His waiting bride. 

Revelation 22:17 (NIV)
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

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